EIC ACCESS+ posts Fundraising 101 replay and details on up to €60,000 co‑funding for EIC beneficiaries

Brussels, December 11th 2025

Summary

›Replay available for EIC ACCESS+ Educational Session #1 on 'Fundraising 101 and cap table best practices' delivered by Roundtable on 13 November 2025
›EIC ACCESS+ offers co-funding of up to EUR 60,000 covering up to 50 percent of costs to access services from the EIC Service Catalogue
›Open call runs from 1 November 2024 until 31 May 2026, total budget about EUR 3.45 million and expected to support 180 companies on a first-come, first-served basis
›Session covered cap table design, investor types, term sheet basics, SPVs and practical fundraising roadmaps, and shared resources including Roundtable toolkits and the Galion term sheet
›Practical caveats include tight service completion deadlines, mixed messaging on assessment cadence, and the limits of co-funding which still leave beneficiaries to cover the remaining costs

Replay and why the session matters

The European Innovation Council ACCESS+ initiative has published the recording of its first educational session, 'Fundraising 101 and cap table best practices for early-stage start-ups'. The online event took place on 13 November 2025 and was delivered by Roundtable, an EIC Ecosystem Partner led in the session by founder Evan Testa. The session is aimed at founders and teams building deep-tech ventures and focuses on how company ownership and legal structures influence investors' decisions and a start-up's capacity to raise later rounds.

What the session covered

Speakers framed fundraising as a discipline that extends beyond the product or technology. The cap table and the legal and contractual framework around it were presented as operational levers that affect governance, dilution, investor confidence and the ability to run clean subsequent rounds. The session combined a practical fundraising roadmap with clauses and structures founders should expect and manage.

Typical fundraising roadmap:Stages from pre-seed to Series A and beyond, what founders should prepare at each stage and how milestones, valuation expectations and investor type change the approach.

How to prepare your fundraising journey:Investor materials, data room organisation, realistic timelines and how to build a negotiation strategy while protecting runway and control.

How to approach different types of investors:Differences between business angels, angel syndicates, early-stage funds and strategic corporate investors, and when each type is more appropriate.

Raising with business angels, pros and cons:Faster decisions and founder-friendly terms are balanced against potential governance complexity and the need to coordinate multiple small investors.

Cap table, what it is and best practices:A cap table is the ledger of who owns what equity in the company. Good practices include keeping the cap table simple, planning option pools proactively, modelling dilution for likely future rounds and ensuring investor-friendly but not founder-crushing protective provisions.

Typical clauses to have in mind:Pre-emption rights, liquidation preference, anti-dilution mechanisms, board composition, information rights and tag along and drag along clauses were discussed as items founders must understand before signing.

What are SPVs and why they matter:SPV stands for special purpose vehicle. It is an entity created to pool investments from multiple investors into a single legal investor on the company cap table. SPVs simplify the cap table, concentrate governance, and can help manage regulatory or tax complexity. The session covered SPV mechanics and operational steps to onboard investors into an SPV.

Resources shared during the session

Roundtable and the EIC ACCESS+ team compiled practical tools and reading to help founders implement the session's advice. The session page and replay point attendees to the following:

Resource	Type	Purpose
Roundtable Investors Database	Platform	Search and shortlist business angels and investor contacts across Europe
Roundtable Fundraise Toolkit	Toolkit	Templates for data rooms, pitch materials and fundraising workflows
Roundtable Investor Tracker - Roundtable Platform	Tool	CRM style tracking of investor outreach and investor-stage management
Galion Project Term Sheet	Model term sheet	Reference Series A term sheet and notes to help founders negotiate shareholder agreements
Book: Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, 4th Edition	Book	Standard practical guide to venture finance and negotiation

Roundtable sells software and services around investor management and SPV execution. The materials are useful but founders should be aware providers also present paid offerings that may or may not be necessary depending on company needs.

EIC ACCESS+ co-funding: what is on offer

EIC ACCESS+ is a continuous open call, run under the EIC Business Acceleration Services, offering co-funded access to services listed in the EIC Service Catalogue. The funding is partial. The stated objective is to reduce early-stage bottlenecks by paying for part of technical, legal, market entry and fundraising support.

Item	Detail	Notes
Maximum grant per beneficiary	EUR 60,000	Cumulative cap across packages
Co-funding rate	Up to 50 percent of service costs	VAT excluded
Total programme budget	EUR 3.45 million	Intended to support about 180 companies
Application window	1 November 2024 to 31 May 2026	Ongoing submission while funds last
Service completion deadline	30 June 2026	All selected services must be finished by this date
Selection principle	First-come, first-served subject to eligibility	Applications receive an electronic timestamp

Available service packages and ceiling amounts:There are four main packages applicants can combine subject to the EUR 60,000 cap. Research package up to EUR 60,000 for access to infrastructure and prototyping. Skills improvement up to EUR 10,000 for coaching and HR. Business acceleration up to EUR 30,000 for incubation, business planning and internationalisation. Access to funds up to EUR 30,000 for IP, legal, due diligence and fundraising support.

Who can apply and key eligibility rules

Eligible applicants are organisations that have received EIC awards including EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition and EIC Accelerator awards, or holders of the Seal of Excellence under Horizon Europe. Applicants must be legal entities registered in EU member states or Horizon Europe associated countries. Spin-offs from EIC award projects can be eligible if a written link to the original project is provided.

Double funding rule:The portion of costs covered by EIC ACCESS+ must not have been already funded by other European or national initiatives. The remaining co-financed share can be covered by other sources including company funds or other programmes.

How to apply and administrative steps

Applicants must select a service provider listed in the EIC Service Catalogue and prepare a clear description of the requested service and expected impact. The practical steps are to join the EIC ACCESS+ Community Hub, complete the application form in the hub, and submit supporting documentation. Each submission gets an electronic timestamp and is handled on a first-come, first-served basis after eligibility checks.

Financial Support to Third Parties agreement:If approved, beneficiaries sign an FSTP agreement that details responsibilities, deliverables and payment schedules. This is the legal instrument used to disburse co-funding to third parties providing services to the beneficiary.

Reporting and payments:Grants up to EUR 10,000 are paid in one instalment upon completion and invoicing. Grants over EUR 10,000 are split into two instalments, typically 50 percent pre-financing and 50 percent on completion and invoicing. Beneficiaries must submit a short report and a service satisfaction questionnaire before the final payment is released.

Selection cadence and an inconsistency to note

Documentation published by the programme describes the assessment process but uses two formulations in different places. One page says applications are reviewed every two weeks by a selection committee. Another page describes weekly cohort evaluations with results issued within seven days from the last application date in the cohort. Both agree on first-come, first-served allocation and the issuance of an electronic timestamp.

Practical implication of the discrepancy:Founders should not assume a fixed weekly cadence. The key control for applicants is to submit early and ensure eligibility documentation is complete, because funds are allocated in timestamp order and the budget is finite.

Context within the EIC ecosystem

EIC ACCESS+ is part of the EIC Ecosystem Partnership Programme that maintains the EIC Service Catalogue. The catalogue lists partner organisations offering sector specific services from acceleration to legal and technical due diligence. EIC Business Acceleration Services more broadly include investor readiness, match-making with corporates and procurement support. ACCESS+ provides a demand-side subsidy to let awardees access specialised partner services that are otherwise paid for.

Why this funding matters in practice:Deep-tech ventures often need expensive lab time, prototyping and specialised due diligence to reach investor readiness. Partial co-funding can lower the barrier, but founders must still budget for the uncovered portion and ensure the service timeline fits the programme deadlines.

Critical perspective and practical cautions

The programme is useful but not a panacea. The co-funding is partial and capped. The first-come, first-served mechanism tends to advantage well resourced teams that can move quickly through procurement and contracting. The service completion deadline of 30 June 2026 can be tight for services that require long lead times such as complex prototyping or regulatory due diligence. The mixed messaging on assessment timing is a governance detail applicants should clarify with the helpdesk before relying on a particular schedule.

What founders should do next:If you are eligible, join the EIC ACCESS+ Community Hub, shortlist vetted providers in the EIC Service Catalogue, estimate total costs and the co-funded share, prepare necessary documentation and apply early. Where possible, negotiate service delivery windows that fit the programme's completion deadline and clarify the payment schedule with the service provider.

Practical glossary

Cap table:A schedule of equity ownership showing shareholders, share classes and percentage ownership. It is central to understanding future dilution and control outcomes.

SPV:Special purpose vehicle, a separate legal entity used to pool investor capital so the company has one line on the cap table rather than many small shareholders.

Term sheet:A non binding or partially binding document that outlines the key economic and governance terms of an investment prior to a definitive shareholders' agreement.

FSTP agreement:Financial Support to Third Parties agreement. The contract between the grantor and the beneficiary that lays out how the co-funding will be disbursed to cover third party services.

Deadlines, contacts and where to watch the replay

Item	Date or contact
Session date	13 November 2025
Replay available	EIC Community platform and EIC ACCESS+ YouTube channel
Open call application window	1 November 2024 to 31 May 2026
Service completion deadline	30 June 2026
Helpdesk for ACCESS+	info@eicaccessplus.eu and help@eicaccessplus.eu
EIC Ecosystem Partnership helpdesk	eicpartnerships-helpdesk@eic-bas.eu
EIC Service Catalogue	Available via the EIC Community Platform

The replay and supporting materials are a practical starting point. Founders should combine the session guidance with independent legal and financial advice when negotiating term sheets and selecting service providers. EIC co-funding can reduce cost barriers but will not eliminate the need for careful planning, realistic timelines and clear contracts.